Personal water crafts (PWCs) are a common type of water jet propelled craft that are fast, compact and highly maneuverable. As such, they are used for a variety of purposes including recreation and waterway travel. Unfortunately, PWCs are also, sometimes, used for illicit activities such as drug running or terrorism (suicide bombing etc.). In these cases, enforcement entities (law enforcement, armed forces, etc.) may want to slow down or stop the PWC and its operator to keep waterways safe. Water jets are commonly referred to as pump jets or hydrojets, which create a jet of water to generate thrust for propulsion and steerage.
Current methods of stopping or slowing a PWC include fire arms or artillery to disable the craft and/or its operator, or employing a device such as a net to physically trap or restrain the PWC and its operator. While these and similar methods may be effective, they are often undesirable because they can have serious residual or unintended consequences. The use of fire arms or artillery can be lethal to the operator and cause irreparable damage to the PWC. In situations where the PWC operator's intentions are unclear, it is ill-advised or legally impermissible for law enforcement to use lethal force unless or until the operator's intentions are determined to be hostile. Until such time, enforcement officers want to take precautionary measures to slow or temporarily disable the PWC and its operator.
Nets can be used to physically trap and restrain PWCs. However, the net needs to be large, strong, and heavy enough to disable a PWC traveling at high speed. Also, an extremely powerful device would be required to launch the net with enough force to stop the PWC at a distance that reduces or eliminates the PWC's threat to a potential target. This is very difficult, especially when the PWC is attempting evasive maneuvers. A sufficiently sized launcher may be physically unmanageable on smaller water vessels and may be very expensive. Additionally, a net can get entangled with the PWC's impeller causing irreparable vessel damage. Deployed nets need to be recovered from the water to prevent entanglement with other vessels or marine life, and net recovery requires a significant amount of time, equipment, and expense.
Other mechanisms can target the propulsion system, but they would rely on entanglement in the PWC's propulsion system. While effective in stopping the PWC, entanglement may cause undesirable, permanent damage to the engine of the PWC. Consequently, what is needed is a non-lethal method for stopping PWCs that does not damage the craft or cause significant injury to the operator.